Well... after I received some good advice from members of this forum, I went ahead and embarked on fixing up a solid F-250. I wouldn't call it a restoration effort; that might be a bit of an exaggeration since I plan, at least for now, to limit the work to getting it ready to drive to the family ranch within the next 6 months.


I know. Many have heard such plans to only watch while a 6 month project turn into 6 years, if not longer. This indeed may be the case with my truck, we'll have to see.


I'm sending a couple of photos, and will try to send more as the summer wears on. I'm taking a break to climb Denali in Alaska from the middle of June to the middle of July, but hope to get back on the project work in August. There aren't enough hours in the day to devote to this, but it's fun when I can steal some time away and tinker with the truck.


When I was searching for a truck for 6 months, I didn't even know that the bump sides ran from 67-72, and I vacillated between the basket cases and the few fully restored trucks whose owners were willing to part with their labors of love. On the good advice of Smirks90, I found something in between-- a low mileage 1970 4x4 for $6500 up here in the far northwestern tip of the US in Anacortes, WA.

 

Here's its birth certificate. Any info on what this means would be appreciated.

 

The paint on the door is from the Fire Dept placard that was there before.

 

 

What it started out as:


300 ci inline 6 with Edelbrock 500cfm with Offenhauser intake, Performance DUI Electronic Ignition Distributor,
power assist steering and variable speed wipers.
Otherwise, all stock including drum brakes, Dana 44 in front, and 60 in rear, 3 speed w/granny manual (NP435?), and am radio.
Best of all, since it was a USFS rig and then a Rural Fire Dept Rig, followed by an ebay sale to the first private owner, my new friend in Anacortes, it had only 55,000 original miles, verified by the fire department and shop records which came from it. Included were the four part 1970 shop manuals!


What I've done so far: New tie rod and steering box adjustment to take out excessive steering play--still wondering if a rebuilt redhead box might make it even tighter...not much to the engine compartment besides new hoses, fuel filter and ignition wires.
Swapped out the 33 x12.5x16.5 Mud Terrain T/A tires and wheels for 265/70/16 Hankook Dynapro with American Racing 16" aluminum wheels. (sorry to all the hardcore 4 x4 drivers out there, but my reality check was that this truck will be on a farm, with occasional trips over snowy passes, with very little off-roading). BTW, I'm hoping to find someone who will get some good use out of the 16.5 Mud Terrains T/As with 80% tread. Just listed them on Craigslist.

Fixed all the electrics that weren't functioning, including dome light, door actuators for the dome light, installed a stock horn and cleaned the contacts under the horn button, installed cigarette lighter from LMC truck (the Ford Truck manuals call it a "cigar lighter", you gotta like that!). Took the play out of the emergency brake so now I can drive it in Seattle even when an unknowing driver pulls up to my bumper on a steep hill. Fixing the emergency brake also allows me to park it on a steep hill without the double insurance of a wheel chock. With all lights working, new wiper blades and the steering tightened up with narrower tires, this truck no longer requires mad skills to drive it through rainy Seattle at night.


To be continued.

 

cont.: The old (3 years+) gas in the tank caused an intermittent rough idle. Even with a new tank of gas and a new fuel filter this rough and slow idle seemed to return occasionally. Perhaps it returned after I sloshed the tank around going up and down steep hills and corners, I don't know. For awhile there I just refilled the tank, added alcohol and Seafoam but eventually I realized that I couldn't rest until I knew that all the old gas was out. So I pulled the tank after running it low, emptying the remaining (clear) gas into my lawnmower. The R and R of the behind the seat tank wasn't too hard to do and I painted it gloss black when it was out. After removing the tank I found tons of wet rags and gloves hidden underneath buried in the corners of the cab. It was satisfying to get those soggy things out as I'm sure they would have been rust generators down there. When I replaced the tank and filled it up, wa-la the rough idle was fixed! At least until the next time it idled rough a day later. Darn it!

I went to the Edelbrock manufacturer's site and checked out their carb tuning videos. For intermittent rough idle, they suggested pulling out the two air fuel mixture screws and blowing out the idle passages with pressurized air. That seemed to do the trick.

I then adjusted the mixture screws until I got the highest vacuum reading (about 20 mmhg) on my vacuum gage and knocked down the high idle to about 1750 rpm. It now idles at about 1000 rpm on the low idle circuit. Do 1000 and 1750 rpm seem to be the correct low and high idle speeds for Edelbrocks and other 4 barrel carbs people are running?

 

When I got some misc. parts from LMC, I picked up a universal coolant recovery container and hoses. This is a great and easy addition to any pre-coolant recovery vehicle-saves from adding antifreeze and is a "green" solution by not allowing antifreeze to drip onto the street and down the storm drain to creeks or Puget Sound. I thought the kit was pretty slick, cheap and easy to install.


I was surprised a day later to see a puddle forming underneath my radiator. I didn't think the coolant recovery system could have caused a new leak but I was ready to buy a new radiator because of the coolant steaming off of the coils. Cleaning up the puddle and fishing around underneath the truck, I found seepage coming out of the top radiator hose. I'm not sure if it was Number Dummy or Orich who mentioned it, but clamps on radiator hoses require periodic re-tightening. Thanks for the advice!

 

I'm starting to think about painting it. I would like to go with a Royal Maroon, a color I heard that was stock not only on the 5th generation F series trucks, but also on many Mustangs. With my next post, I'll send a picture of a nice 1970 (albeit a Sport Custom with a lot more chrome than my Custom) that is a good example of a Royal Maroon 1970 Ford F-250 4 x4.

 

Wishful thinking- This is what I'm hoping the finished project will look like...

 

Of course, mine would be without the extra chrome, the winch, the 35" tires etc.....although those additions sure would be nice.

 

Another idea might be a cream or tan roof after adding a horizontal chrome trim piece just below the gas tank cap that goes all around the cab to define a line between the cream colored roof and the maroon door. (examples to follow)

 

I was thinking of the paint scheme in the top depiction, except having the roof light colored and the body maroon. Pros? Cons?

 

An example of a light roof with a darker body. Thoughts?

 

Maybe the Cab Back Panel Molding to define the line between the light roof and dark panel. Do you think this would work??

 

Finally, do people have other ideas for this fairly stock 300 inline six F250 to improve drivability ? Sway bars? AC? Other modifications?


Thanks again!